Johnson short-pitted with about 40 laps to go in Atlanta, and held off the charging Kevin Harvick down the stretch to capture the Folds Of Honor 500. With the win, Johnson matched Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career win.
Hamlin powered his way past Matt Kenseth on the final lap, then edged Martin Truex, Jr. at the line by .010 seconds, the closest finish in Daytona 500 history, to win his first 500.
Busch won the Ford EcoBoost 400, holding off Kevin Harvick to win his first Sprint Cup championship. Busch missed the first 11 races of the season after breaking his leg at a crash at Daytona in February. “A pasty white guy from Las Vegas is the Sprint Cup champion,” Busch said. “Ironically, all other driver ‘pale’ in comparison to me.
Joey Logano: Logano blew a left-rear tire on lap 4, and the resulting damage sent the No.22 to the garage for major repairs. He finished 40th, 60 laps down, and will need a win at Phoenix to be among the final four eligible to win the Cup at Homestead.
Gordon seized his opportunity at Martinsville, taking the lead late and holding on for his ninth win at the Virginia half-mile track. With the win, Gordon will be one of four drivers vying for the Sprint Cup at Homestead.
Logano led 227 of 334 laps and held off Kevin Harvick down the stretch to claim the Bank Of America 500. With the win, Logano advanced to the next round of the Chase For The Cup.
The 2020 Truck Series champion from Alpine, California, led 17 of 163-scheduled laps and capitalized on a last-lap incident involving Austin Hill and Ross Chastain to achieve his first elusive career victory after 15 runner-up results.
Taylor Gray (ninth), Brandon Jones (10th) and Dean Thompson (11th) led Toyota with strong finishes in the second race of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season at EchoPark Speedway.
The No. 45 took the lead with just a handful of laps to go, but lacked help in the draft to capitalize. The team took home a ninth-place finish and notched their second top-10 in a row.
